MAM
TAM proposals fail to enthuse broadcasters
MUMBAI/New Delhi: Broadcasters have found nothing new in the six-point action plan proposed by TAM Media Research, saying there is no definite offer on plate except promises and fall far short of measures that are needed to address the ills plaguing the
‘monopoly‘ audience measurement system.
Times Television Network MD & CEO Sunil Lulla has said the TAM action plan lacks “anything concrete”. “I am happy about the factthat TAM has at least admitted to failures in its ratings system,” he sarcastically pointed out.
The CEO of another broadcaster, who did not want to be named, said the proposed action plan of TAM would not solve any of the problems as there is no provision to increase reach to the most parts of the country. “Why has TAM suddenly woken up to its deficiencies,” the broadcaster asked and felt the meeting TAM had with advertisers was clearly prompted by the audience research body to save itself.
The six steps outlined by TAM include appointment of a security officer and a security agency, expansion in the number of peoplemeters in six top metros, an industry review of the research processes, independent audit of outlier homes, faster rotation of the peoplemeter homes and setting up of an internal audit team.
Doordarshan Director General Tripurari Sharan said the TAM proposals are ridiculous as there is nothing mentioned about expanding the geographical coverage of the ratings measurement system. “It is astonishing that DD unquestionably had the largest reach in the country and yet did not figure in the TAM ratings.”
The pubcaster has viewers in large numbers in small towns and villages, which are not covered by TAM ratings.
Sharan said in his home state of Bihar, the cities and towns covered by TAM does not even touch double figures.
Times Television‘s Lulla said, “There is nothing new that has been done and I don‘t know why there is so much euphoria about it. For broadcasters who have always been complaining about TAM‘s auditing, process and security, it‘s really disappointing.”
A senior official with another broadcaster said the TAM proposals were a clear indication that TAM was concerned about the pressures building up against it from all sides after NDTV filed a lawsuit New York alleging that the subsidiary of Nielsen and Kantar were knowingly releasing fraudulent and misleading television viewership ratings. The government‘s threat of investigating TAM‘s functioning added to the pressure.
Broadcasters said it was important for the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to work in tandem to ensure that the proposed Broadcasters Audience Research Council (BARC) commences its work.
“The immediate step should be the quick and rapid roll out of BARC which would be an interfacing body between the industry and TAM,” Lulla remarked.
AAAI & ISA come out with joint statement but some media agencies not excited
The response from the advertising and media agencies has been mixed, with some of them pointing out that “there is nothing new in TAM‘s promised action plan”, while others have said that “there has been at least some forward movement by making TAM officially outline its immediate agenda.”
Said Havas Media India & South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar, “These (TAM proposals) are not concrete steps and there is a lack of transparency. They seem to have merely outlined some action without specifying the details.”
Nayyar feels that the announcement by AAAI and ISA is nothing but a ploy to pacify disgruntled broadcasters who are keen to pursue Barc, in which IBF, AAAI and ISA are stakeholders.
“It could be seen as a ploy to pacify people who are complaining against TAM. These suggestions are nothing new and were submitted to TAM time and again in the past. Now they have just acknowledged and finally agreed to work on them,” Nayyar pointed out.
AAAI president Arvind Sharma, who along with Indian Society of Advertisers Chairman Bharat Patel announced the action points in a
statement after a meeting with TAM, was confident that the steps promised by TAM would be implemented.
Sharma said the purpose of the meeting with TAM was to find ways and solutions to improve the reliability of data in the current design. The meeting restricted the discussions to the expansion of peoplemeters in the top six metros.
“You see, the idea was to focus on how the current system can be improved. The sample size, coverage, representation and other issues will be addressed once BARC‘s new measurement system is in place,” he pointed out.
He was also hopeful that BARC would be rolled out in the next few weeks, but did not give details. He said IBF, AAAI and ISA will soon set the dates for the next meeting to set in motion the process of setting up BARC.
Zenith Optimedia CEO India Satyajit Sen has welcomed the move by TAM. He said, “I think it is the best and optimum step ahead that TAM has taken. It is at least saying that TAM is willing to take steps. I presume they intend to implement these things with immediate effect. I believe that the decision to expand the sample size in the top six metros has been taken to accommodate digitisation and that the expansion should take place by January 2013.”
Brands
Kingfisher signs three-year IPL partnership
Packaged water brand signs on as ‘good times partner’ for 2026–28 cycle
MUMBAI: Kingfisher Premium Packaged Drinking Water is betting big on cricket’s biggest stage, sealing a three-year partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to sharpen fan engagement at the TATA Indian Premier League.
The brand, owned by United Breweries, will serve as the official “good times partner” for the men’s IPL from 2026 to 2028, extending a relationship that began with the Women’s Premier League. The move signals a broader push to embed itself deeper into live sport, with a focus on immersive, consumer-led experiences rather than conventional sponsorship visibility.
At the heart of the tie-up is a suite of fan-first activations spanning broadcast, stadiums and digital channels. These include the “Kingfisher Bird Cam”, offering a branded spider-cam perspective during live matches, and the “Good Times Zone”, an in-stadium entertainment hub during play-offs aimed at amplifying match-day buzz. The brand will also back IPL fan parks, elevate public screening experiences and run digital contests tied to key moments through the season.
Vikram Bahl, chief marketing officer, United Breweries, said cricket in India “is more than a sport, it is a shared cultural moment”, adding that the IPL brings that energy alive at scale. “For Kingfisher Premium Packaged Drinking Water, being present at the heart of these moments, in partnership with the BCCI, is a natural extension of what we stand for. Through this association, we aim to enrich how fans experience the game… making every match more immersive, social and memorable,” Bahl said.
Devajit Saikia, honorary secretary, BCCI, said the IPL “has always been at the forefront of redefining sports entertainment and fan engagement”. He added that the collaboration would fuse cricket fandom with “innovative fan experiences that extend beyond the stadium”, helping create memorable moments for audiences nationwide.
For United Breweries, part of the HEINEKEN group, the play is clear: move from passive branding to active participation in the fan journey—on screens, in stands and across social spaces. With millions tuning in and turning up each season, the IPL remains the country’s most potent marketing theatre. The question now is whether “good times” can translate into lasting brand recall in a market where visibility is easy, but engagement is hard-won.
